Stirrup buckle and strap



Sept 11. `1951 if J. H. AKER STIRRUPBUCKLE AND STRAP v. l

Filed May 6, 1949 lll' ` /A/VENro/Q dof/MH. B/)Kgg A A TTORNEYS PatentedSept. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE STI'RRUP BUCKLE AND STRAPJohn H. Baker, Salida, Colo.

Application May 6, 1949, Serial No. 91,830

(Cl. 2li-176) 2 Claims.

inventionv relates to special fasteners and buckles for belts and-strapsand the like, and particularly to a quick-change fastening for astir-run strap.

The vmain object -of kmy invention is to provide reliable self-locking.means for lengthening or shortening a stirrup strap quickly at will.

Another object is to provide a stirrup buckle which vis simple inconstruction and so vcompact that the stirrup strap members when inposition are substantially fiat and free from bulges that -might tend toirritate a horse or chafe the leg of the rider..

A further object is to have a buckle of the character indicatedwhich isreadily inserted in an initial engaging position and then turned downinto electve holding position to retain a strap engaged therewith insuch fashion that the strap and buckle cannot become disengaged untilthe buckle is again deliberately raised into the initial engagingposition and disengaged.

' It is also an object to have such a stirrup buckle which `virtuallyconsists of Iasingle unitary member having two locking portionsprojecting rigidly therefrom and adapted to engage in a series of pairsof apertures in a, stirrup strap.

Other 'objects and advantages of the invention will appear in furtherdetail as the specication proceeds.

In order to facilitate ready comprehension ofV this .invention for aproper appreciation of the salient features thereof, the invention isillustrated on the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, and inwhich:

Figure l is a, fragmentary front elevation of a portion of a stirrupstrap together with a fender stra-p with the buckle of the inventionapplied thereto in effective position to hold the portions of the strapproperly engaged;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken-on line 2--2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of a modification.

In the views, the same reference numerals indicate the same or likeparts.

In buckles of certain types it is a very desirable feature that the samecan be readily disengaged from a strap held thereby, as .for example,when a stirrup strap is involved. Due to the fact that horses differsomewhat in size and girth, and particularly that men whose duty it isto ride horses, as for example, on the Western plains, have legs ofdifferent lengths, it is obviously desirable that the stirrups dependingfrom the saddle should be capable of being quickly raised or lowered tosuit the particular man who is irlof the first-mentioned day. The resultis that the vstirrups should therefore be adjustable rvery readilybecause they are virtually interchangeable in actual practice.

Although stirrups should thus be readily changed in position withrespect to a, saddle, the means heretofore used do not offer greatconvenience in this respect, and a further'difliculty is introduced whennewv stiff leather is used for the straps, because such straps arerather difficult to handle, and 'adiusting the stirrup up or down is atask amounting to a problem. In fact, the whole situation amounts to a,problem which has apparently not been solved heretofore, but which Ihave found it necessary to consider very carefully. As a result of suchconsideration, l', have succeeded in producing a special quickchangebuckle for a stirrup strap which will now be more fully described. y

Hence, in the practice'of my invention, and referring again vto thedrawing, a stirrup strap 5 extends upwardly and over or about the treeon a saddle in the form of aA loop (not shown), and

has a flight 6 extending downwardly from the mentioned loop and bentupwardly to define another flight 6,`the flights 6 and 6 togetherforming the depending loop 'I-which extends under and upwardly onopposite sides of a cross-piece or stud 8 of a stirruppartly shown at 8.The strap 5 hangs downwardly along the outer side of the flight 6 andterminates in alower end I0, while beyond the stirrup cross-piecev 8 theflight 6' exv tends along the outer sidel ofv the Vstrap 5 to a greateror less extent according to the adustment. The upper end I I of thenight 6 is thereby spaced above the lower end I0 of the strap 5..Exteriorly upon the strap flights 6 and 6 is secured a fender straporleather `I2 by means of rivets I3 (one shown) this fender strapextending down to form a loop I3 about the previously-described loop 'Iand extending Iupwardly therefrom to terminate in an end I4.

Between the upper ends II and I4 of tioned strap members an anchoringplate I5 is secured by means of a plurality ofl rivets I6, I6, etc.,with the plate I5 disposed-between the men!- tioned Yends and the rivetsI6 extending through the menboth strap members and the platetherebetween` From the upper portion of the mentioned plate extend twolaterally spaced similar Shanks I1 and I8 which are inclined inwardlytoward strap 5 and a distance above the ends II and I4 of the straps towhich plate I5 is secured. Both shanks are bent substantially at a rightangle to forni laterally inwardly-extending necks |9 and 20. Upon theinner ends the inwardly-extending neck portions I9 and 20 are providedwith integral and vertically-elongated anchoring members 2| and 22extending a short distance below the level of the neck portions to formthe depending lower ends 23 and 24 and the relatively longer upper ends25 and 26 which are biased slightly outwardly in such fashion as to tendto lock or toe into the inner side 21 of strap member 5, as indicated at28. In order to accommodate the mentioned anchoring members 2| and 22and allow the neck portions I9 and 20 to extend through and engage withstrap 5, the latter is provided with pairs of vertically-elongatedapertures spaced apart in pairs 29 and 30 forming a series along acertain length of strap 5 toward the lower end I thereof. of the ShanksI1 and I8 adjacent the outer ends of the necks I9 and 20 are deectedslightly toward the plane of the plate I in order to make a true rightangle with the necks I9 and 20, the portions 3| and 32 being spaced fromthe lower ends 23 and 24 of the anchoring members 2| and 22 and engagingthe adjacent side of the strap 5, while the upper outwardly-inclinedends 25 and 26 of the anchoring members engage in the locking recesses28. It is evident that when a downward strain is exerted on the stirrup9 so that cross-piece or stud 8 exerts a downward pull on loop 1, aswell as loop I3, shanks I1 and I8 will exert a downward pull upon theinwardlyextending neck portions I9 and 20 so that the latter will restwith considerable weight upon the lower ends of elongated apertures 29and 30 into which the neck portions extend` When the weight is released,the length of the anchoring members 2| and 22 is still sufficient toprevent any accidental displacement thereof through apertures 29 and 30in strap 5, even when the loops are swung `from side to side or twisted,especially in view of the engagement of the upper ends 25 and 26 in therecesses 28 immediately above the apertures through which the neckportions extend.

The arrangement is such that when the buckle formed by plate I5 andshanks I1 and I8 with the neck portions I9 and 28 and the inneranchoring members 2| and 22 is to be disengaged from strap 5 andintroduced into another pair of apertures 29 and 30 above or below thesein which for the moment the anchoring members may be engaged, the strapportions II and I4 are swung a short distance out from strap 5 and theupper ends 25 and 26 of the anchoring members thereby released from therecesses 28 upon the inner side 21 of strap 5 when the buckle assemblyincluding straps II and I4 and plate I5 therebetween is liftedsufciently to cause the neck portions I9 and 20 to approach the upperends of apertures 29 and 30. Then the lower ends 23 and 24 of theanchoring members will clear the lower ends of the apertures and allowthese lower ends 23 and 24 to be swung out and released from thementioned apertures by swinging out the buckle assembly'substantiallytoward a right angle with respect to strap 5 when the entire anchoringmembers 2| and 22 may readily be withdrawn The portions 3| and 32 4 fromthe apertures in said strap 5. The upper ends 25 and 26 of the anchoringmembers may then be introduced into another pair of apertures 29 and 30above or below those from which they have been released, and thenextended upwardly inside the inner surface 21 of strap 5 until the neckportions I9 and 20 strike the upper ends of the apertures involved whenthe lower ends 23 and 24 of the anchoring members may be swung into thespace between straps 5 and 6 and the buckle assembly then allowed todrop straight down to seat the neck portions I9 and 20 upon the lowerends of the mentioned apertures. The buckle assembly will then again beengaged with a portion of strap 5 and the upper ends 25 and 26 of theanchoring members engaged in the upper inner recesses 28 upon the innerside 21 of depending strap 5 above the lower end I0 thereof.

While anchoring plate I5 has been described as having two shanks I1 andI8 extending upwardly therefrom, this is obviously a plural form whichmay not upon all occasions be used, for as shown in Figure 3, the strap35 may be relatively narrower than strap 5 of Figures 1 and 2, and havea relatively narrower plate 36 secured thereto by rivets 31, 31, oneabove the other, and the plate above the upper end 38 of strap 35narrowing at 39 to form a single shank 40 having the inwardly-extendingneck portion 4| disposed at right angles with the upper end of saidshank and provided with a single vertically-elongated anchoring member42 having a relatively short lower end 43 and a relatively longer upperend 44 adapted to engage in a recess 28 in a strap or belt forming partof the mentioned strap 35 or another strap to which anchoring member 42may be attached through an aperture similar to the previously-describedapertures 29 and 38, yonly one aperture, however, being required forthis anchoring member.

For example, the anchoring plate I5 with its shanks I1 and I8 and neckportions I9 and 29 and anchoring members 2| and 22, as well as plate 36,shank 49, neck 4| and anchoring member 42, maybe made of bronze, brass,steel, especially stainless steel, or in fact of any metal or alloy, andeven of strong plastic if so desired, and in various sizes to suit thestraps involved.

Manifestly, variations may be resorted to and parts and features may bemodied or used without others within the scope of the appended claims. l

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a pair ofcoextensive and overlapping strap members,one of said strap members having a free end and the other being formedwith a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings, said openings beinglongitudinally elongated, a plate secured to said one strap member nearits free end, a longitudinally extending shank projecting from saidplate and reaching beyond the free end of said one strap member, saidshank being relatively long and vbeing angularly deflected out of theplane of said plate and toward the adjacent side of said other strapmember, a relatively short neck on the outer end of said shank extendingtoward said other strap member at right angles to said plate, said neckprojecting removably through a selected one of the openings in saidother strap member, and an anchoring element on the inner end 'of saidneck, said anchoring element being longitudinally elongated with respectto the length of said other strap member and being substantially greaterin length than the opening, said anchoring element being secured at apoint intermediate its ends to the inner end of the neck so as to deneend portions of substantial length engaging the side of said other strapmember beyond opposite ends of the opening, the portion of said shankadjacent the outer end of said neck being deflected toward the plane ofsaid plate and engaging the opposite side of said other strap member,whereby a pull on said one strap member in one direction producestilting.

yformed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings, saidopenings being longitudinally elongated, a plate secured to said onestrap member near its free end, a longitudinally extending shankprojecting from said plate and reaching beyond the free end of said onestrap member, said shank being relatively long and being angularlydeflected out of the plane of said Vplate and toward the adjacent sideof said other strap member, a relatively short neck on the outer end ofsaid shank extending toward said other strap member at right angles tosaid plate, said neck projecting removably through a selected one of theopenings in said other strap member, and an anchoring element on theinner end of said neck, said anchoring element being longitudinallyelongated with respect to the length of said other strap member andbeing substantially greater in length than the opening, said anchoringelement being secured at a point intermediate its ends to the inner endof the neck so as to define end portions of substantial length engagingthe side of said other strap member beyond opposite ends of the opening,the portion of said shank adjacent the outer end of said neck beingdeiiected toward the plane of said plate and engaging the opposite sideof said other strap member whereby a pull on said one strap member inone direction produces tilting of said anchoring element toward the sideof said other strap member causing one of said end portions to dig intothe side of said other strap member and said deected shank portion topress against the opposite side of said other strap member, said neckbeing no longer than the thickness of said other strap member wherebysaid anchoring element is in constant engagement with the side of saidother strap member.

JOHN H. BAKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 237,314 Owen Feb. 1, 1881'774,853 Smallman Nov. 15, 1904 1,055,045 Hunter Mar. 4, 1913 1,164,227Seabury Dec. 14, 1915 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Name Date 494,367 GreatBritain Oct. 25, 1938

